Ready to rumble

Kuala Lumpur

KENNETH Thexeira is a mild-mannered writer for an interior-design magazine by day, but on certain nights his alter ego bursts forth in golden tights and a baby-blue cape: enter "The Eurasian Dragon". The 27-year-old Singaporean is part of a small but growing community of Southeast Asians who trade drop-kicks and body-slams in a bid to build "pro wrestling" scenes similar to the pretend battles of the US's World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

"To me, it is one of the most challenging mediums of live entertainment," said Thexeira, who got hooked as a kid in Singapore watching broadcasts of stars like "The Rock" - known today as Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson.